Swizzling with Arrack and Chartreuse

I was browsing around to find some drink inspiration and stumbled upon one of Cocktailvirgin´s posts – the St Bruno Swizzle. What got me at first was the picture, it looked so tasty and reading the recipe finding out the drink contained green chartreuse and Batavia arrack i couldn`t wait to try it out.

And it didn`t hurt that there was a link to another interesting drink also with Chartreuse and Batavia arrack – the “Swamp Water Fix” – and that one i decided to turn into a swizzle and add some aged rum as well.

The Swamp Water Fix originates from a drink called Swamp Water containing green Chartreuse, pineapple juice and lime. That drink is from the 70s and the recipe can be found in Stan Jones’ Complete Barguide.

Both the Swamp Water drinks and the St Bruno Swizzle reminds me about the famous Chartreuse Swizzle which we the CSOWG gang (Cocktails and Spirits Online Writers Group) so happily imbibed from flower vases as drink vessels in the Mixohouse during the “good old days” in New Orleans.

I wrote a post or two about the Chartreuse Swizzle and really, there is something purely magic about the combination of green chartreuse, lime, falernum and pineapple and as we had it – JWray overproof Jamaican rum. (Can be made with other rums too with stunning results)

The garnish for the Swamp Water Fix is a wide strip of lime peel that should resemble a serpent in the swamp water.

But back to the first drink, the St Bruno Swizzle – it was created by bartender/Scott Marshall and the drink name refers to the founder of the Carthusian Order who established the enclosed monastic society in 1084.

It was the Carthusian monks who in the 1740s produced the Chartreuse liqueurs.

Reading Fred´s flavor description got me both thirsty and curious if i would find it as tasty as he did:

The St. Bruno Swizzle offered up a chocolate aroma that was paired with caramel notes from the aged rum. The citrusy sip preceded the funky Batavia Arrack flavors, the Green Chartreuse herbal notes, and the Yellow Chartreuse savory ones. At the end, instead of the drink drying out from the floated bitters, it got pleasantly chocolaty.

There was only one way to find out of course and luckily i had all the ingredients on hand. So here are the drinks:

Add the ingredients in a tall glass half filled with crushed ice and use a swizzle stick to swizzle up and down to chill until frost forms on the outside of the glass. Top of with more crushed ice and float 1/2 oz Plantation Barbados 5 Year Rum and 2 dash Bittermen`s Mole Bitters, and add a straw.

I also added a piece of lemon peel and a cherry for garnish.

I didn´t have Plantation Barbados 5 Year Rum but i have Plantation Original Dark Overproof Rum….much better to float with i think…

The flavor of the drink is what i would call aromatic…I love the funky notes from the Batavia arrack and the green chartreuse is very herbal – while the yellow chartreuse is herbal too i find it more tropical in flavor and paired with some fresh lime…it´s mouth watering and yummy.

There´s a hint of sexy chocolate in the mix…from the mole bitters. Then the float of overproof dark rum on top is like the icing on the cake or the cream on the coffee…

Add ingredients to a tall glass and fill with crushed ice and swizzle to mix. Insert a wide lime twist in the glass, top with more ice, dust some cinnamon on top and add a straw.

This drink was rounder in flavor, probably because of the pineapple juice and the celery bitters. It had a similar flavor though since both drinks contains Batavia arrack and Chartreuse but definitely more “round” and “full” and if i was to choose one of them i`d take this one.

Such aromatic drinks…i hope yall will and can try them out sometimes. I call the green Chartruse the “green magic potion”…